The exterior of the Basilica Sempronia was not as beautiful as the temple Venus Genetrix next to it. The temple had morphed into a sort of veteran’s memorial. Originally, it had honored the first founders of Caesarea—all European refugees from World War Two. Many of the men and women had fought in a battle or survived one. There was a recent memorial to recognize the Taurus House Patricians lost in ‘The Succession Conflict.’ Livia didn’t appreciate the Cesareans trying to pretend it hadn’t been a Civil War that involved all the Houses. Blaming the 565 Taurus deaths on Taurus aggression was only 80% accurate. Blaming the dead ones, who couldn’t speak for themselves, was a tactic to avoid admitting responsibility. The whole thing made her sad and angry.

The temple interior was a quiet place people went to mourn those lost or maimed in combat. It wasn’t only the stillness and quiet inside that unsettled Livia while visiting. It was the lack of accountability. She’d visited twice and planned never to return. She wouldn’t support partial truths.

Livia focused her gaze on the basilica in front of her, equally unsettling but the opposite of quiet. The place bustled with people going in and out. Perhaps that would be to her benefit today? Livia stood at the bottom of the stairs, mentally preparing herself to press through the crowds. People coming down the stairs passed her with respectful glances, but no one stopped to speak with her. She lifted her foot to ascend the steps when someone spoke to her.

“Good Morning, Livia.”

Livia turned and found Lars and Alia on her left. “Oh, hello.”

Alia cleared her throat and tilted her chin side to side while she eyed the crowd around them.

Livia inhaled and lifted her chin, cheeks flushing with heat. “Lars, Alia, good morning.”

Alia smiled as if she were proud of Livia and lifted her chin to say, “How nice to run into you here.”

“We can talk to each other now?” Livia whispered.

Lars laughed. “We’re meeting Corvin here.”

“Ah,” Livia grinned. The idea of getting to see him in person made her happy. “He arrived late last night, didn’t he?”

“Yes,” Lars answered.

“Is he already inside?” Livia asked, looking toward the entrance.

Lars opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted.

“Livia, Alia, Father,” Corvin drawled, gesturing with his chin. “My favorite people all in one place.”

Livia turned to find Corvin on her right. She lifted her chin to him, welcoming his presence. “Corvin.”

He winked. “Look at you being so polite.”

Livia tried to smother a laugh and failed. It ruined the effect of being polite, but she didn’t care.

“Where are you headed, Livia?” Corvin asked, stepping in close to her now.

“Gaius wants to see me,” she answered.

“May we walk together?” he asked.

“Yes,” Livia answered. She gave Corvin the side-eye. Sometimes he was so oddly formal. She wondered if all those months she’d considered him distant and uncaring, she’d misunderstood his character. Maybe he appeared that way because he’d been raised patrician.

“What?” Corvin asked.

Livia shook her head. “Nothing.”

Corvin curled his hand around hers, giving her a tentative look. “May we?”

Livia laughed again. “Are you asking permission to hold my hand, Corvin?”

“I am,” he said as if that were normal.

Livia answered by nestling her hand more securely in his and giving a light squeeze. Her heart raced in her chest, but a sense of reassurance settled over her shoulders. She closed her eyes as the physical connection sent a rush of relief through her. It was evidence that he wasn’t still angry with her over the drive.

Corvin started up the stairs with Livia. Lars and Alia trailed after. Alia had taken Lars’ elbow and supported him as he walked. He minced as if he experienced some sort of pain.

Livia hesitated. Corvin paused with her.

“Do you need help?” she asked the Paterfamilias.

Lars looked up, surprised. “I’m well. Thank you.”

Livia turned forward again, confused.

Corvin leaned in and spoke into her ear. “He has a bad knee.”

She nodded and kept her pace leisurely. Corvin smiled at her.

“Liv, how has the job search gone?” Corvin asked.

“No luck yet,” she said. She had applied for one or two jobs but hadn’t heard anything back.

Corvin nodded. “I’m sure you’ll find something. Did you get your grades back?”

“I passed all my classes,” Livia said.

“Congratulations, tonight we can celebrate together….”

“That’d be fun,” Livia agreed. “When and where?”

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“Come over to my townhouse at five. We’ll see what we’re in the mood for.”

“I don’t have the address,” Livia said, hesitant to agree to such vague plans.

“I’ll text it to you,” he said.

They’d reached the top of the stairs now. Lars paused at the top and took a deep breath before he continued.

Livia tugged Corvin close, speaking into his ear. “Shouldn’t he take the elevator from the basement?”

“He does when the pain is too bad,” Corvin whispered.

Livia should have eased away from Corvin, but instead, she lingered, inhaling the lavender and lemon scent clinging to him.

“I missed you too,” he teased.

“I didn’t say I missed you,” Livia said to ward off embarrassment over her transparency.

“Didn’t have to.” He smiled. “It’s on your face.”

Livia tugged his hand so they weren’t standing at the top of the stairs blocking traffic. They entered the loud, bustling basilica. They dodged and were dodged until they reached the elevators that led up to the House offices.

The traffic thinned out on this side of the building. People bustled up and down the central staircase that led to the second-floor courtrooms and offices. Most visitors usually didn’t come up to the House offices until the late afternoon when they had public hours. The mornings were reserved for private appointments and small council meetings.

When the elevator doors closed on the four of them, Livia sneaked a glance at Corvin. The back of her neck heated as she remembered the last time they were in an elevator. Corvin met her gaze, appearing impassive as ever, and she looked away. Although he still held her hand, his cool demeanor made her wonder if she’d imagined it all. The kisses, the intimate conversations.

Livia looked down at her feet as a wave of discomfort passed through her—a sense of losing him. It was hard to endure the heaviness that slid into her stomach. She pulled her hand from his, and the sensation eased but didn’t disappear.

When they exited the elevator, Corvin gestured her over to the side. He spoke to his father and Alia, “I’m going to talk to Liv for a moment. I’ll catch up in five.”

Alia and Lars offered them farewells and disappeared down the hall. Livia gave Corvin a questioning glance; the heaviness in her belly transformed into a flutter of nerves. What had he held her back for?

He got straight to the point. “Are you still mad at me?”

Livia frowned. “Am I acting mad?”

Corvin’s head tipped to the side. “Not particularly. That doesn’t mean you’re not still upset.”

“About what?” she asked.

“The drive to Caesarea,” he said.

Livia met his eyes, uncertain. “Are you bringing it up so you can scold me over it?”

He shook his head and spoke gently. “No, Fabulous. I’m only glad you are safe.”

“I’m not mad as much as I am…troubled. Justin said…he said you would have driven me home and back.” Livia’s brow furrowed. “You wouldn’t have done that, right?”

“If the situation required, I would have. To keep you safe,” Corvin said.

Livia inhaled. “But that’s so…Corvin…you realize that’s extreme?”

His head tilted to the side. His voice remained calm, but there was still a challenge in it. “Is it?”

Livia was immediately flustered. She didn’t like that, and she didn’t like how Corvin’s helpfulness felt threatening. “I am completely capable of taking care of myself. You don’t need to offer help—”

“I didn’t offer, Livia,” Corvin said.

“You offered to let me stay with you and Terrance,” Livia hissed.

Corvin’s eyes widened. “Did that offend you? Were you worried it’d be inappropriate?”

“Would you have been offended if I hadn’t wanted to be inappropriate?” Livia challenged.

“No. By inappropriate do you mean intimate? Because I want to start by rejecting using inappropriate as a euphemism for that. If I wanted to be intimate, I would have asked to be intimate.”

Livia looked around the foyer, afraid to find people listening. “Can we not have this conversation in public? And the reason I’m upset has nothing to do with that!”

“Why were you so upset then?” Corvin asked.

“I’m not helpless!” she snapped.

Corvin’s expression turned confused. “I know that.”

Livia knew that she needed to redirect this conversation. She was close to letting anger get the better of her, and that wouldn’t solve anything. She opened her mouth to argue. Then she clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and visibly stopped herself. Part of her was proud of herself. She’d never been able to hold back that way with Arik. She had grown.

Corvin watched her as she struggled.

“I—” she said moments later, trying to find the words. “I’m not going to apologize for driving myself.”

Livia’s only clue to Corvin’s emotion was an audible inhale and exhale. Livia found herself swallowing convulsively to work up the courage to say the next part. She’d done the part where she stood up for herself, but she didn’t think it was fair to dismiss his fears completely. She was grateful that Corvin hadn’t jumped in to defend himself the way Arik would have. Indeed, he was being patient in the way he waited for her to speak.

“B—but I don’t think I realized how much it would scare you. So, maybe we need to do better next time? Somehow?” she offered.

He looked surprised, and she could sense something rigid in his posture relax. “In the winter, Liv, we’ll drive together from now on,” he said.

“Only in the winter?” she asked, eyes narrowed. She didn’t love that, but he wasn’t asking for unlimited surveillance. He was asking for one season. It terrified Livia to be constrained by his fears, but was this what compassion looked like? Compromising some independence to give a traumatized person comfort? At the very least, it was worth trying, and she didn’t find it unreasonable. Sometimes, hiking trails were too isolated and dangerous to do alone, especially during certain seasons of the year.

“That’s when it is most dangerous,” he said as if reading her thoughts.

“In the winter,” she conceded. “For you.”

“Thank you, Liv,” he said, smiling a bit. “I know I’ve been irritating.”

“Yeah, you have,” she agreed. “But there are things about me that will be irritating.”

“Relax, Hun,” Corvin said, his smile coming easily now. He grazed her clenched fists with his fingertips.

Livia released her hands, surprised that when she released them, they were trembling. Corvin noticed and intertwined his fingers with hers. The touch was physically steadying, but it made her stomach twist with nerves. Livia was torn between accepting the support and pushing him away.

“You okay?” he asked, studying her.

Livia nodded.

Corvin took a deep breath. “I’ll walk you to your House office. Then we’ll see each other tonight.”

Livia’s heart dropped to her toes as she imagined an intimate night alone with no way to hide or distract him from how much anxiety she could experience over physical closeness. If holding his hands made her this anxious, how was she going to react when he asked for more? She swallowed. What if he decided she was broken and left her?

Oh goodness, Livia, stop being so afraid of every little thing. Get over it.

“Alright, Corvin,” she agreed.

He hesitated, almost as if he sensed her resignation. “Do you have any opinions on what you’d like to do tonight?”

Livia looked at him in surprise as another vision came into her head. “I’d like something fun—”

“What’s fun to you?” he asked.

“Games—with friends,” she said.

“Board games?” he asked.

Livia blinked. “No. Outdoor games…like steal the flag or sardines….”

Corvin’s face lit up. “Kickball or Four Square?”

Livia laughed. “Four Square is a little too grade school, but kickball would be interesting.”

“Alright, I’ll see if any of the TARP crew is up for a game,” Corvin grinned, excited.

“Really? I’ve missed them,” she said. “That would be so great. Thank you, Corvin.”

“My pleasure,” he said easily. “I’m excited to see them too. It’s been too long. Even better, there will be no work stress when we catch up. Great idea, Liv.”

Their eyes met, and a connection zinged through the air between them—excitement and anticipation. It was a moment that lightened Livia’s heart and the weight of fear evaporated.

“Thanks for being up for something different,” Livia said with a genuine smile.

“Nah, I love spending time outdoors,” he said. “Even if it’s a tad cold.”

“Me too,” Livia said.

Corvin walked her to Taurus’ House office and then walked on down the hallway and ducked into Lupus’ House office. Livia didn’t take her eyes off him until he disappeared.